Neil Broom is a budding, promising player for New Zealand’s Black Caps. A strong middle-order player, he has scored heavily in domestic cricket and deserves a spot at displaying his ability on the world stage. Yet in his 21 appearances for New Zealand, Broom has shown one significant difficulty: getting off the mark.
I’m not a believer in stat-powered analysis: there is only so much that cold numbers can tell. Gordon Greenidge may have had a one-day strike rate of 64 but he was definitely a more violent, destructive player than, say, the fluent and unfussy Michael Clarke (S/R: 77). Weighing up a player’s average and strike-rate does little to demonstrate his style or method of play: some are accumulators, others bashers; some yank out their wickets while others pry steadily away. But Broom’s penchant for a oval O is a particularly surprising stat.
His fellow debutant against the West Indies in 2009, Martin Guptill, a talented and gutsy top-order player, has been criticized for not making enough of his starts, and for throwing his wicket away. Yet Guptill, on record, has exceeded most batsmen, averaging 38.69 at a swift scoring rate. His debut was marked with a brilliant unbeaten 122, while Broom clubbed two sixes in a useful partnership of 56 in 35 balls. Since then, though, Broom’s performances have been alarmingly scattergun.
His next innings was a first-ball duck: he has made four of them in total, with the quacker against Australia in the second Chappell-Hadlee match the latest addition. Add to that two more noughts, in consecutive appearances against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi earlier this season, and you have, to put it politely, a nervous starter.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing; Marvan Atapattu, the prolific Sri Lankan opener, scored precisely 1 run in his first six Test outings. Ouch. And Broom’s is a difficult position; he often has come in with quick runs needed, or with a top-order collapse to stymie. So far, though, he hasn’t done the best job.
The remainder of the Chappell-Hadlee series is a good opportunity for Broom to show his mettle, but New Zealand’s reserve of players means Broom has to brush back his inauspicious start and make a sweeping statement.